Finishing Information

CUSTOM STAIN.

High quality results produced in Naples florida. TOP COAT Furniture finishing.

Stain work is quite complicated and needs to be produced in a professional and calculated manner to achieve the quality look that will last for a lifetime.

The beauty of wood grain becomes a stunning element, creating a feeling (so much more than just a look!) that can't help but put a smile on your face every time you walk into your kitchen. We offer a full range of high solids furniture stains, from light and subtle to rich and dramatic.

The process starts with stain being carefully hand applied, and hand wiped. Pieces are then set aside; this important pause allows the stain to achieve the necessary depth and readies the pieces for the next step: our sealer coat.

Using a catalyzed varnish we hand spray our sealer coat, laying down the proper thickness to provide the foundation of a beautiful and durable clearcoat. Once sprayed, pieces are rolled into the oven, and baked at 130˚ for twenty minutes. This is not a process that can be duplicated on jobsite-made cabinetry, and is essential for a truly long-lasting and beautiful finish.

When all wood has cooled, they are hand sanded with an ultrafine grit sandpaper, and then rubbed with a tack cloth to remove the smallest traces of dust. (In case the term "tack cloth" is unfamiliar to you, it is a lint-free cloth treated with turpentine and a small amount of varnish to produce a tacky surface that picks up and holds dust and lint.)

We will go back to the spray booth, where our skilled sprayers apply the topcoat, using another catalyzed conversion varnish. All freshly topcoated pieces head back to the oven, for another twenty minute baking at 130˚. This final baking is equally critical, as it promotes the cross-linking between the sealer and topcoat, yielding our famous gorgeous finish. This carefully controlled finishing process cannot be duplicated by any local cabinetmaker.

CUSTOM DISTRESSING FURNITURE

A complicated process to most finishers. The range of techniques can be endless. The first step is to determine what you'd like the finished piece to look like. If below the distressed areas you'd like to see an old paint color, as if the piece has been painted many times over, you'll need to paint two colors. Consider a brighter color for the base coat so it shows up well as it peeks through the top coat. If you want the rubbed-off areas to reveal bare wood, the technique requires only one coat.

You also need to decide whether to add a stain to it afterward, which will mute or age the color(s) you've selected. To retain the integrity of your color choice, you may just want to paint clear polyurethane over the finished project. A water-based polyurethane that won't yellow over time is a good choice.

Steps:

1. Lightly sand the object you want to distress. If the object already has a finish (previously painted or varnished), sand all surfaces well. After the sanding, wipe the piece with a tack cloth.

2. Paint the entire piece in the base coat color you've selected.

3. For the bare-wood look: When the base coat is dry, start sanding off areas that would naturally end up distressed — places where hands would have held it, or corners that could easily get nicked. For the color look: Rub candle wax on the areas where you'd like to see color show through. Don't forget to do the sides and back; you want the entire piece to be finished. Then apply the top coat.

4. For the bare-wood look: Be sure to stop before you go too crazy with the sanding, and then wipe the entire piece with the tack cloth. For the color look: Paint over the base coat and the wax. Cover everything well. After the paint dries, rub the steel wool over the areas you've waxed. (The steel wool won't harm the rest of the paint enough to worry about — remember, the piece is meant to be distressed, so use it to find the waxed areas.) Wipe off the piece with the tack cloth.